Sport ball bladder with a pocket

ABSTRACT

A sport ball may include a casing, a bladder, and a component. The casing forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball, and the bladder is located within the casing. The bladder includes a pocket that projects toward a center of the sport ball, and the pocket defines a cavity. The component, which may be an electronic device or a counterweight, is located within the pocket. In some configurations, the bladder may include a valve that is located on an opposite side of the bladder from the pocket and component.

BACKGROUND

A variety of inflatable sport balls (e.g., soccer balls, footballs,basketballs) conventionally incorporate a layered structure thatincludes a casing, a restriction structure, and a bladder. The casingforms an exterior layer of the sport ball and is generally formed from adurable, wear-resistant material. In soccer balls and footballs, forexample, the panels may be joined together along abutting edges (e.g.,with stitching or adhesives). In basketballs, for example, the panelsmay be secured to the exterior surface of a rubber covering for therestriction structure and bladder. The restriction structure forms amiddle layer of the sport ball and is positioned between the bladder andthe casing to restrict expansion of the bladder. The bladder, whichgenerally has an inflatable configuration, is located within therestriction structure to provide an inner layer of the sport ball. Inorder to facilitate inflation (i.e., with air), the bladder generallyincludes a valved opening that extends through each of the restrictionstructure and casing, thereby being accessible from an exterior of thesport ball.

SUMMARY

A sport ball may include a casing, a bladder, and a component. Thecasing forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball, andthe bladder is located within the casing. The bladder includes a pocketthat projects toward a center of the sport ball, and the pocket definesa cavity. The component, which may be an electronic device or acounterweight, is located within the pocket. In some configurations, thebladder may include a valve that is located on an opposite side of thebladder from the pocket and component.

A method of manufacturing a bladder for a sport ball may includeproviding a mandrel having a protrusion that forms an end portion of themandrel. The mandrel, including the protrusion, are coated with abarrier material. Upon drying, solidifying, or curing, the barriermaterial is removed from the mandrel and a valve is secured to thebarrier material.

The advantages and features of novelty characterizing aspects of theinvention are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. Togain an improved understanding of the advantages and features ofnovelty, however, reference may be made to the following descriptivematter and accompanying figures that describe and illustrate variousconfigurations and concepts related to the invention.

FIGURE DESCRIPTIONS

The foregoing Summary and the following Detailed Description will bebetter understood when read in conjunction with the accompanyingfigures.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sport ball.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the sport ball.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sport ball, as defined in FIG.2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bladder of the sport ball.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the bladder and anelectronic component located within a pocket in the bladder.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the portion of the bladder andthe electronic component.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views of further configurations of thesport ball.

FIGS. 9A-9J are perspective views of a process for manufacturing thebladder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following discussion and accompanying figures disclose variousconfigurations of sport balls, including a soccer ball, a football forAmerican football, and a basketball. The concepts discussed herein may,however, be applied to a variety of other sport balls having inflatableor gas-retaining configurations, including footballs for rugby,volleyballs, and water polo balls, for example. Accordingly, theconcepts discussed herein apply to a variety of sport ballconfigurations.

Sport Ball Configuration

A sport ball 10 having the configuration of a soccer ball is depicted inFIGS. 1-3. Sport ball 10 has a layered structure that includes a casing20, a restriction structure 30, and a bladder 40. In addition, sportball 10 includes an component 50, which may be an electronic device, acounterweight, or both, for example. As described in greater detailbelow, component 50 is securely-located within a pocket, cavity,indentation, void, or other space that is formed in bladder 40.

Casing 20 forms an exterior of sport ball 10 and is includes variouspanels 21 that are stitched, adhered, bonded, welded, or otherwisejoined together along abutting sides or edges to form a plurality ofseams 22. Panels 21 are depicted as having the shapes of equilateralpentagons or hexagons. In other configurations of sport ball 10,however, panels 21 may have non-equilateral shapes, non-regular ornon-geometrical shapes, or a variety of other shapes (e.g., triangular,square, rectangular, trapezoidal, round, oval) that combine in atessellation-type manner to form casing 20. Each of panels 21 may alsobe formed to have hexagonal shapes. Although sides of panels 21 may belinear, panels 21 may also have concave, convex, or otherwise non-linearedges. Selected panels 21 may be integral with adjacent panels 21 toform bridged panels that reduce the number of seams 22. In furtherconfigurations, casing 20 may have a seamless structure (i.e., where allof seams 22 are absent). Accordingly, the construction of casing 20 mayvary significantly to include a variety of configurations for panels 21.

The materials selected for casing 20, or individual panels 21, may beleather, synthetic leather, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, rubber, orother materials that are generally durable and wear-resistant. In someconfigurations, each of panels 21 may have a layered configuration thatcombines two or more materials. For example, each panel 21 may include anon-foamed polymer layer and a polymer foam layer. As another example,an exterior portion of each panel 21 may be polyvinyl chloride layer, amiddle portion of each panel 21 may be a polymer foam layer, and aninterior portion of each panel 21 may be a textile layer.

Restriction structure 30 forms a middle layer of sport ball 10 and ispositioned between casing 20 and bladder 40. In general, restrictionstructure 30 is formed from materials with a limited degree of stretchin order to restrict expansion of bladder 40, but may have a variety ofconfigurations or purposes. As examples, restriction structure 30 may beformed from (a) a thread, yarn, or filament that is repeatedly woundaround bladder 40 in various directions to form a mesh that coverssubstantially all of bladder 40; (b) a plurality of generally flat orplanar textile elements stitched together to form a structure thatextends around bladder 40; (c) a plurality of generally flat or planartextile strips that are impregnated with latex and placed in anoverlapping configuration around bladder 40; or (d) a substantiallyseamless spherically-shaped textile. In some configurations of sportball 10, restriction structure 30 may also be bonded, joined, orotherwise incorporated into either of casing 20 and bladder 40, orrestriction structure 30 may be absent from sport ball 10. Accordingly,the construction of restriction structure 30 may vary significantly toinclude a variety of configurations and materials.

Bladder 40 has an inflatable configuration and is located withinrestriction structure 30 to provide an inner portion of sport ball 10.When inflated, bladder 40 exhibits a rounded or generally sphericalshape. In order to facilitate inflation, bladder 40 includes a valve 41that extends through restriction structure 30 and casing 20, therebybeing accessible from an exterior of ball 10. In other configurations,bladder 40 may have a valveless structure that is semi-permanentlyinflated. Bladder 40 may be formed from a rubber or carbon latexmaterial that substantially prevents air or other fluids within bladder40 from diffusing to the exterior of ball 10. In addition to rubber andcarbon latex, a variety of other polymer or elastomeric (i.e.,stretchable) materials may be utilized for bladder 40.

Component 50 is located within a pocket 42 that is formed in bladder 40and may be an electronic device, a counterweight, or both of anelectronic device and a counterweight. As an electronic device,component 50 may include a microprocessor, transmitter, receiver,memory, battery, or other combination of elements that process, send,receive, or collect data. More specifically, examples of electronicdevices that are suitable for component 50 include one or more of (a) asensor for determining a pressure of the fluid within bladder 40; (b) aglobal positioning system (i.e., GPS) unit or an accelerometer thatmeasures various factors relating to the location or movement of sportball 10, including acceleration, spin, velocity, elevation, anddirection; (c) a line sensor that determines whether sport ball 10 hascrossed a goal line or an out-of-bounds line; (d) a radio-frequencyidentification (i.e., RFID) chip that stores data relating to sport ball10 or assists with identifying sport ball 10; and a camera that collectsimage data. As a counterweight, component 50 may enhance the balance,weight distribution, center of mass, or other properties of sport ball10. More specifically, component 50 may be any object that acts as acounterweight. In many configurations, however, component 50 may be anelectronic device that adds the advantage of being a counterweight.

The pressurization of bladder 40 with air or another fluid induces sportball 10 to take on a substantially spherical shape. More particularly,fluid pressure within bladder 40 causes bladder 40 to place an outwardforce upon restriction structure 30. In turn, restriction structure 30places an outward force upon casing 20. In order to limit the expansionof bladder 40 and also limit the tension in casing 20, restrictionstructure 30 is generally formed from a material that has a limiteddegree of stretch. In other words, bladder 40 places an outward forceupon restriction structure 30, but the stretch characteristics ofrestriction structure 30 effectively prevent the outward force frominducing significant tension in casing 20. Accordingly, restrictionstructure 30 may be utilized to restrain pressure from bladder 40, whilepermitting outward forces from bladder 40 to induce a substantiallyspherical shape in casing 20, thereby imparting a substantiallyspherical shape to sport ball 10.

Bladder Pocket

Pocket 42 provides a cavity, indentation, void, or other space thatreceives component 50. When bladder 40 is incorporated into sport ball10, pocket 42 protrudes or projects inward and toward a center of sportball 10, as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, thereby locating component 50within an interior area of sport ball 10. In this position, component 50is protected from impacts with a foot, surface, or other object whensport ball 10 is being utilized.

The shape and size of pocket 42 accommodates component 50. That is, theconfiguration of pocket 42 may be selected to form a cavity thatreceives component 50 and securely-retains component 50 within sportball 10. Referring to FIGS. 4-6, pocket 42 includes a neck portion 43and a container portion 44. Whereas neck portion 43 forms an opening tothe cavity that receives component 50, container portion 44 forms thecavity. In comparison, a width of neck portion 43 is less than a widthof container portion 44 and the cavity formed by container portion 44.Similarly, the width of the opening formed by neck portion 43 is lessthan the width of container portion 44. This configuration has anadvantage of ensuring that component 50 is securely-retained withinpocket 42. More particularly, component 50 may be larger than neckportion 43 to fill or otherwise fit within the cavity in containerportion 44. Given that component 50 is larger than the opening formed byneck portion 43, component 50 remains within the cavity due to sizeconstraints. In manufacturing sport ball 10, however, an individual ormachine may insert component 50 into pocket 42 by stretching orotherwise distending neck portion 43.

By forming neck portion 43 to have lesser width than container portion44, pocket 42 effectively wraps around component 50 and contactsopposite surfaces of component 50. More particularly, one surface ofcomponent 50 faces away from the center of sport ball 10, whereas theother surface of component 50 faces toward the center of sport ball 10.In addition to contacting edge areas of component 50, container portion44 extends around component 50 to contact and lay against both surfacesof component 50. This configuration also provides the advantage ofensuring that component 50 is securely-retained within pocket 42.

As noted above, component 50 may be a counterweight that enhances thebalance, weight distribution, center of mass, or other properties ofsport ball 10. Referring to FIG. 4, for example, valve 41 is locatedopposite pocket 42. That is, valve 41 and pocket 42 are located onopposite sides of bladder 40 and on an axis 45 that extends through acenter of bladder 40. Valve 41 adds mass to one side of sport ball 10,and the combination of pocket 42 and component 50 adds mass to anopposite side of sport ball 10. By equalizing these masses, sport ball10 achieves better balance than in the absence of pocket 42 andcomponent 50. In practice, however, these masses may not be equal. Thebalance and other properties of sport ball 10 may, however, be enhancedwhen a combination of the mass of pocket 42 and component 50 is in arange of 75 percent to 125 percent of the mass of valve 41. Accordingly,the mass of sport ball 10 may be more evenly distributed and the centerof gravity of sport ball 10 may be more centrally-located when valve 41and component 50 are located on opposite sides of sport ball 10 andalong a common axis (i.e., axis 45).

The configuration discussed above provides an example of the structureof sport ball 10, as well as pocket 42. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8,sport ball 10 is respectively depicted as having the configurations of afootball for American football and a basketball. In each of theseconfigurations, bladder 40 forms pocket 42 and includes component 50.Although a single component 50 may be incorporated into sport ball 10,bladder 40 may include multiple pockets 42, each of which may include acomponent 50. The relative dimensions between portions 43 and 44 mayalso vary. Accordingly, various aspects of sport ball 10 and pocket 42may vary, depending upon the athletic activity that sport ball 10 isintended to be used during and the configuration and purpose ofcomponent 50, for example.

Based upon the above discussion, sport ball 10 includes casing 20,restriction structure 30, bladder 40, and component 50. Bladder 40 islocated within casing 20 and restriction structure 30 and includespocket 42, which projects toward a center of sport ball 10. Pocket 42has both neck portion 43 and container portion 44. Whereas containerportion 44 forms the cavity within pocket 42, neck portion 43 forms anopening to the cavity. Although the configuration of pocket 42 may varyconsiderably, a width of the opening may be less than a width of thecavity. Moreover, valve 41 may be located on an opposite side of bladder40 from pocket 42.

Manufacturing Process

Although bladder 40 takes on a substantially spherical shape whenincorporated into sport ball 10 and inflated, bladder 40 may be formedto have various wings that expand to the substantially spherical shape.Referring to FIG. 9A, a conventional mandrel 60 is depicted as includinga support 61 and a forming surface 62 with various wings 63 that extendoutward from a central axis 64. In manufacturing a conventional bladder,forming surface 62 is coated with a barrier material (e.g., rubber orcarbon latex). Once removed from mandrel 60, a valve is secured to thebarrier material and manufacture of the bladder is substantiallycomplete.

A modified mandrel 70, which is depicted in FIG. 9B, is utilized in themanufacturing process for bladder 40. Similar to mandrel 60, mandrel 70includes a support 71 and a forming surface 72 with various wings 73that extend outward from a central axis 74. Although mandrel 70 mayinclude four wings 73, some configurations may include three, five, orsix wings 73. In further configurations, mandrel 70 may have a generallyspherical or elongated shape without wings 73.

Mandrel 70 includes a protrusion 75 that is located opposite support 71and on axis 74. In this position, protrusion 75 forms an end portion ofmandrel 70. As discussed in greater detail below, protrusion 75 formspocket 42 in bladder 40. Although techniques may vary, mandrel 70 may beformed by retrofitting a conventional mandrel (e.g., mandrel 60) withprotrusion 75. Alternately, mandrel 70 may be formed specifically forthe manufacture of bladder 40 by including protrusion 75. Given thatprotrusion 75 forms pocket 42, a shape of protrusion 75 may be selectedto correspond with the shape of component 50. Given that differentcomponents 50 may have different shapes, the configuration of protrusion75 may vary to correspond with the different shapes. Alternately,protrusion 75 may have a general shape that forms pocket 42 to have aconfiguration that accommodates multiple shapes for components 75.

The barrier material that forms bladder 40 may be applied to mandrel 70in various ways. As an example, FIG. 9C depicts mandrel 70 as beingadjacent to a vat 80, which holds molten barrier material or a resin forthe barrier material. Mandrel 70 is then dipped or immersed in themolten or uncured barrier material, as depicted in FIG. 9D, to coatwings 73 and protrusion 75 with the barrier material. Mandrel 70 and alayer 81 of barrier material are then removed from vat 80, as depictedin FIG. 9E. In effect, layer 81 covers and adheres to forming surface72.

Once layer 81 dries, solidifies, or cures, layer 81 may be stripped,pulled off, or otherwise removed from mandrel 70, as depicted in FIG.9F. At this stage, layer 81 has many of the characteristics of bladder40, except that valve 41 is absent and the portion of layer 81 thatforms pocket 42 protrudes outward. Valve 41 is then adhered or joined tolayer 81, as depicted in FIGS. 9G and 9H, through conventional means. Inorder to substantially complete the manufacture of bladder 40, the endarea of layer 81 may be pushed into bladder 40, as depicted in FIG. 91,to form pocket 42. Moreover, component 50 may be inserted into pocket42, as depicted in FIG. 9J, and the combination of bladder 40 andcomponent 50 may be incorporated into sport ball 10.

The general manufacturing process discussed above, forms pocket 42 as ashaped portion of the bladder. That is, a portion of bladder 40 isspecifically shaped to include a structure that forms pocket 42. Moreparticularly, mandrel 70 is formed to include protrusion 75, which ispresent for the specific purpose of forming pocket 42 in bladder 40.Pocket 42 is not, therefore, a feature that arises due to the presenceof component 50 and the outward pressure of the fluid within bladder 40.Rather, portions of bladder 40 are shaped during manufacturing toprovide a structure in bladder 40 that forms pocket 42.

The invention is disclosed above and in the accompanying figures withreference to a variety of configurations. The purpose served by thedisclosure, however, is to provide an example of the various featuresand concepts related to the invention, not to limit the scope of theinvention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that numerousvariations and modifications may be made to the configurations describedabove without departing from the scope of the present invention, asdefined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A sport ball comprising: a casing thatforms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball; a bladderlocated within the casing, the bladder having a radially outward-facingsurface oriented facing away from a center of the ball, and a radiallyinward-facing surface facing toward the center of the ball, the bladderincluding a pocket that projects toward the center of the sport ball,the pocket having an inner surface defining a cavity and an outersurface opposite the inner surface and contiguous with an inner surfaceof adjacent portions of the bladder; and an electronic device locatedwithin the pocket; wherein the pocket includes a neck portion and acontainer portion, the neck portion forming an opening to the cavity,and the container portion forming the cavity; wherein the outer surfaceof the pocket has a neck width in the neck portion and a containerportion width in the container portion; and wherein the neck width issmaller than the container portion width.
 2. The sport ball recited inclaim 1, wherein the electronic device is disposed radially inward ofthe radially-outward facing surface of the bladder.
 3. The sport ballrecited in claim 2, wherein a width of the opening is less than a widthof the container portion.
 4. The sport ball recited in claim 1, whereinthe pocket is a shaped portion of the bladder.
 5. The sport ball recitedin claim 1, wherein the electronic device has (a) a first surfaceoriented to face away from the center of the sport ball and (b) a secondsurface oriented to face toward the center of the sport ball, and thepocket contacts both of the first surface and the second surface.
 6. Thesport ball recited in claim 1, wherein the bladder includes a valve, thepocket being located on an opposite side of the bladder from the valve.7. The sport ball recited in claim 1, further including a restrictionstructure located between the casing and the bladder.
 8. The sport ballrecited in claim 1, wherein the electronic device includes at least oneof a sensor, a global positioning system unit, an accelerometer, and aradio-frequency identification chip.
 9. The sport ball recited in claim1, wherein the electronic device performs at least one of processing,sending, receiving, and collecting data.
 10. A sport ball comprising: acasing that forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball;a bladder located within the casing, the bladder including a pocket anda valve, the pocket being a shaped portion of the bladder, and thepocket being located on an opposite side of the bladder from the valve;and a component located within the pocket; wherein the pocket includes acontainer portion and a neck portion, the container portion forming acavity within the pocket for holding the component, and the neck portionforming an opening to the cavity; and wherein the neck portion is formedby a folded portion of the bladder.
 11. The sport ball recited in claim10, wherein the component is an electronic device.
 12. The sport ballrecited in claim 10, wherein the component is a counterweight.
 13. Thesport ball recited in claim 10, wherein a combination of a mass of thepocket and the component is in a range of 75 percent to 125 percent of amass of the valve.
 14. The sport ball recited in claim 10, wherein awidth of the opening is less than a width of the container portion. 15.A sport ball comprising: a casing that forms at least a portion of anexterior surface of the ball; a bladder located within the casing, thebladder including a pocket that projects toward a center of the sportball, the pocket being a shaped portion of the bladder that has acontainer portion and a neck portion, the container portion forming acavity within the pocket, and the neck portion forming an opening to thecavity, a width of the opening being less than a width of the cavity,and the bladder including a valve located on an opposite side of thebladder from the pocket; and a component located within the pocket;wherein the casing is continuous across the opening to the cavity. 16.The sport ball recited in claim 15, wherein the component is anelectronic device that includes at least one of a sensor, a globalpositioning system unit, an accelerometer, and a radio-frequencyidentification chip.
 17. The sport ball recited in claim 15, wherein thecomponent is a counterweight.
 18. The sport ball recited in claim 15,further including a restriction structure located between the casing andthe bladder.
 19. The sport ball recited in claim 18, wherein therestriction structure is continuous across the opening to the cavity.20. The sport ball recited in claim 15, wherein the bladder has aradially outward-facing surface oriented facing away from a center ofthe ball, and a radially inward-facing surface facing toward the centerof the ball; and wherein the electronic device is disposed radiallyinward of the radially-outward facing surface of the bladder.